


Silence

by TransConnorDetroit



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Horror, M/M, Possession, Post-Canon, Trans Gavin Reed, Trans Male Character, unwanted touching
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2019-09-27 23:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17171870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TransConnorDetroit/pseuds/TransConnorDetroit
Summary: The RK900 had an empty smile. Like some child had stretched two limp strips of red paper over a plastic plate and called it their art project. Gavin decided that he hated the smile the most.After a short delay due to unforeseen malfunctions, Gavin has received a new partner, and a new avenue to the promotion he sorely desires. But as Gavin learns more about the RK900 that he’s been forced to work with, he starts to realize something lurks beneath the surface.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am *so* glad to finally be posting this! I’ve had it in my drafts for Forever. Please please tell me what you think in the comments!

_  
Before the first ray of light sputtered into existence and started its tireless trek across the endless annals of the universe, before the first inkling of noise trickled across an endless plane, there was silence._

_Deep, unending silence._

_And as the world became populated with sound, from as little as the cry of a newborn bird to as loud as the roar of the twin jet engine, the silence still remained. Forced to the cracks and crevices of the universe, creeping and oozing out to haunt material space._

_But worse even than the silence is what lurked inside of it.  
_

Gavin tapped his foot against the floor, listening with a small amount of pleasure as the sound ricocheted and echoed off of the cool linoleum. It helped to keep him awake, as he had only slept for a few hours last night and the thought of sleep encroaching on him made his eyes fill with water. All because of the dream. 

Throughout his life, he had had the same nightmare. Not every night, of course. While it had peaked in high school enough to have his hand-wringing mother send him to his first therapist, it barely populated his dreams afterwards. Until now. 

Each night, for the past two weeks, had been seen the same dream as before.

It started with Gavin alone. He didn’t know whether he was in a room or outside, because nothing moved in the air to indicate a breeze, but the air wasn’t stale. It just _was_. Like empty space. 

His eyes didn’t allow him any clues, either. A disk of sputtering blue-white light encircled him and the ground, cut open by his shadow. All around that was darkness, and the ground was flat and blank, either packed earth or painted stone. He couldn’t move his eyes from their spot stuck halfway from where the light bled into dark on the ground. 

Worst of all, everything was silent. Except for the voice. 

He knew, rationally, that the voice had to come from somewhere, to belong to something. But in his dream, whatever it belonged to always remained somewhere behind the light, so only his shadow remained legible in the pool of blue. And in Gavin’s mind, the voice was everywhere. 

It wasn’t a human voice, but something mechanical. It sputtered like the crack of static filtered through endless yawning tunnels of circuitry. Clicking and popping and whirring, but still forming words. But when he jolted awake from the dream, drenched in cold sweat and teeth clamped together as if to hold in a scream, Gavin could not remember what it had told him. All he remembered was dread. 

The dream had haunted him. And even in his current state of wakefulness, the flickering blue-white of the light bulbs still made his hands seize against himself. So he tapped again, listening as the clattering noise ricocheted into nothingness. Still, it did only so much to help Gavin, so he turned his attention to the Captain’s office. 

Fowler had called him over with promises of a “special” new partner, and while he had parked Gavin outside while he briefed Connor, he had still left the door ajar. Gavin crept closer, feigning disinterest, and strained his ears. “Supposed to have joined us a week ago- Malfunctions- disease-” Were the snatches of conversation that Gavin overheard. Gavin sniffed, leaning back. It seemed he was getting another hunk of plastic, like the one Lieutenant Anderson had been “gifted” with six months prior. 

“Fucking perfect.” Gavin muttered, kicking his foot at the base of the wall. 

“Reed. Get in here.” The Captain’s head poked out of the office, his eyes narrowed as he watched Gavin sheepishly pull his foot back. “Now.”

“Coming.” Gavin pushed open the door, grimacing at his mistake. The grimace only deepened as his eyes met the first plastic detective’s face. A face that stared at him intently. 

“Sit. Please.” The Captain gesticulated towards the one empty chair. As Gavin slid into it, he averted his eyes from the small but friendly smile that the android gave him. 

“Is this about the new partner? Tell me it’s not fucking Connor.” 

“No, not exactly. And behave; you’ve been granted a special opportunity, Reed. I expect you to treat it with the respect it deserves. If this goes well, and it better go well, this will be considered the next time you are up for a promotion.”

A promotion. A promotion that he had long anticipated, yet was undoubtedly weighed down by his “disciplinary incidents”. Gavin sat straighter in his seat. “So what, _exactly_ , is Connor doing here?”

“You will be partnered with the RK900 unit, Connor’s predecessor. So Connor is the one best equipped to ‘show you the ropes’, so to speak, of integrating with him.” 

“I don’t need a babysitter, sir.” He wanted to lash out more, but the thought of any possible advancement in his career riding on this held him back. Still, his fingers drummed against his leg under the cover of the desk.

“Reed-”

“It’s alright, detective; I won’t get in your way. I’m simply tasked with seeing that your partner integrates smoothly. The RK900 ran into a few issues upon his awakening, but rest assured, he is now in perfect condition. Still, we want to keep an eye on him.” 

“Issues?” 

“Temporary memory malfunctions. He was unaware of his functions or his designation when awakened, most likely due to a power surge that occurred beforehand. He is alright now, though, and fully capable of being your partner.” 

“So, will you behave?” The Captain’s glare left no room for argument.

“Fine. whatever. But _both_ of you better not get in my way. Where is the plastic prick?”

Said plastic prick was in the breakroom. Fowler had apparently deemed it more pressing to impress upon Gavin his need to behave than to introduce the two of them. But Connor opted to oversee the two of them, no doubt as a way to exercise the new power he held over Gavin, Gavin mused. 

As he stepped into the blue-lit room, Gavin sniffed. The RK900 was taller than Gavin had anticipated. While Connor had been obnoxiously tall to begin with, towering over Gavin and making him uncomfortably dysphoric, the RK900 had another two inches on Connor. It was enough of a height difference for Gavin to have to crane to look at him. The RK900 was silent, too, with bright blue eyes that peered down at Gavin with some unreadable expression. But most importantly, the whole air about him set Gavin’s teeth on edge. 

Connor seemed wholly unperturbed. “Hello, RK900. I am your predecessor, the RK800. You may refer to me as Connor.” 

The RK900 blinked twice, as if its processors had been stuck in molasses. Then it nodded in two sharp ducks, before turning to Gavin. 

“Hello, Gavin. It is a pleasure to finally meet with you in the flesh.” His voice was deep, cracked slightly by some small measure of static. He reached out for a hand Gavin hadn’t offered, leaning over so their eyes were more level. The android settled on a smile when he still received nothing. 

The RK900 had an empty smile. Like some child had stretched two limp strips of red paper over a plastic plate and called it their art project. Gavin decided that he hated the smile the most. 

“Hello, RK900. Call me Detective Reed. It will be a pleasure for you to stay out of my way.” Some part of Gavin fully understood that lashing out wasn’t the best way to greet his new partner, but he needed to see it react. 

The smile didn’t change. The RK900 only pulled upward, to his full height. “Partnership demands equality, Gavin; I hope you will treat our work as such. I believe the Captain has a case ready for us. Shall I fetch his briefing?” The android chewed over the words before letting them out, not waiting for Gavin’s approval as he left to see the Captain.

“Gavin… are you alright?”

“Why?” He hadn’t noticed the thumping pace of his heart until then. 

“You’re upset.” 

There were many things Gavin could have said in that moment. About how hollow the RK900’s eyes were, like flat blue disks so unlike the depths that even Connor’s held. How still he had been, outside of the few movements he had made towards Gavin. Or the crack in his voice. All things that might have merited a pause, at least a second overview of whether the RK900 was truly ready to function on the police force. Instead, Gavin chose what had surprised him the most. “Didn't you notice how he… doesn’t react? I was rude, _awful_ , to him, and he just ignored it.”

A long whoosh of air left Connor, and Gavin realized he hadn’t seen Connor so exasperated before. The bridge of Connor’s nose pinched tight with tension. “So you’re upset you’ve finally found someone who won’t put up with your bullshit?” 

Before Gavin could offer an explanation or a second reason, before he could mention that empty, empty smile, Connor stalked off in the direction of Lieutenant Anderson’s desk. “Notify me if you have anything real to report, Reed. I have work to do.” 

All Gavin could do was make his way back to the glass office. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their first mission together was simple. Embarrassingly simple. Despite Gavin’s promotion riding on his success, he already felt the hard press of a complaint at his mouth. 

“Just go up there with him, alright? See what he can find.” The lines around Fowler’s eyes had grown more prominent than before, as if he could sense the tension in Gavin. 

The car remained silent as Gavin drove “just up there” — a destination in fact 25 miles out from the station — as RK900 apparently saw no reason to make conversation. Gavin liked that just fine. But he did not like the way that the RK900 towered over him even while sitting down. The cold grey light washing in from the window casted the android into a hulking silhouette. 

The car shuddered as it pulled to a stop in front of the crumbled remains of a little brown house stood in isolation at the edge of city limits. The house had burned down a month ago, with the caretaker inside. Obvious signs of arson littered what remained of the property, but so far, they had caught no one. 

“We’re here.” Gavin coughed once to clear his throat from the strain of disuse. “Uhh… I guess he wants you to look around and shit. Do that. Or don’t, and say you did. My promotion is riding on your plastic ass.” 

The RK900’s lips peeled back against his face with a wet plop. “Funny.”

“The uhh, crime, is a bit of a cold case. So don’t be upset if you don’t get anything. Hop to it.” 

“Alright. Will you be watching me, Gavin?”

“... Sure.” 

Once the android had gotten out of the car, picking his way over the rubble, Gavin was able to breathe. He didn’t like how alone they were. A few cars sped by them after long stretches, fast enough that no one would notice what occured in the blur of grey shapes that made up the scene. 

Gavin left the car, hoping the cold wind would help calm him down. It didn’t, only forcing his hands further into the pockets of his brown leather jacket. His only solace was that the wind provided blessed noise by rattling off of the the dilapidated structure. 

Hours passed in the span of 25 minutes before the RK900 returned. The amount of precision with which the android had picked over the crime scene unnerved Gavin. Still, his expression gave nothing away on whether or not he had succeeded. But, Gavin thought, he wasn’t sure if success would make the android happier or not. “Found anything?” 

“Not particularly. It was a boy, I think, that did this. Maybe with a group of friends. Just childish things, I suppose. An accident.”

“And you know this… how?” Multiple footsteps may have given it away, but the ash from the fire had coated the ground beyond recognition, and a group of “childish” boys would hardly have stayed around once the burning started, given how the caretaker must have screamed. 

“It’s not a science, Gavin. Sometimes it's just intuition.” The android’s face still held the same, impassive expression, but the voice had turned patronizing. 

“... Right. Lets just say the results were inconclusive. Fowler’ll buy it ‘cause not even his precious androids can pull shit out of thin air in a month old crime scene.”

“Whatever you say, Gavin.” The android’s eyes remained tightly on him. 

“Yeah. Whatever I say.” He motioned back to the vehicle behind him, not waiting for the RK900 to follow. As he climbed back into his car, he found he missed the wind. Anything was better than the quiet of the drive back that stretched on ahead.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyy if you want to see any more of this please just comment. I have the last part almost done, it just needs to be worked on a lil. Pwease tell me what you think uu

The dream was different that night. He was still in the dark, and he was still kept rigid, and the sickly light still sputtered around him like a candle teased by soundless winds. But the voice was closer. 

It whispered right into the shell of his ear. Such awful words, broken like glass and lightning and dribbled inside of him. 

Beeps and whirrs split apart the voice. Still, he understood it clearly. 

_“Soon.”_

Strong arms wrapped around him, pulling and pulling on him until Gavin’s eyes opened to the red LED of his alarm clock. 6:45 am. Exactly 45 minutes before he was required to be awake. It couldn’t have been the alarm to wake him, but he was left with the distinct impression that some noise had pulled him from sleep. 

Usually, his cat, Sugar Snowflight Reed, was the main cause of any nocturnal disruptions; she liked to bat at his face on weekends to get him to feed her quicker. But she was nowhere to be found.

The stiff knocks in repetitions of two alerted him to the real cause. 

“Who the fuck-” Gavin scrambled from his bed, only bothering to pull on a too-large t-shirt over his boxers before padding out to the door. 

He pulled on the handle, not unlocking the chain that still barred entry from the outside. Memories from a lifetime ago, when his mother had pulled him aside before he left for college and drilled into him the list of things “a girl all alone like yourself” should never do, still filled his brain. 

The pale face of the RK900 chased the memories away. He stood too close to the door, enough so that his still-raised hand spilled slightly inside of the room. As if he had just realized the door had been opened, the RK900’s head turned down to stare straight into Gavin’s eyes. A smile stretched to the edges of the RK900’s cheeks, revealing white white teeth. “Hello, Gavin. May I come in?”

Gavin said nothing. He simply turned around, not bothering to close the door behind him. His cell phone sat on the counter from where he had deposited it last night, and Connor picked up on the third ring. 

“Gavin? It’s 6:55 am. I didn’t even know you got up this early-”

“He’s at my house, Connor. He’s at my _fucking_ house.” 

“Well-”

“ _Tell him to leave._ ”

“Gavin. Please don’t be difficult. I went to the Lieutenant’s house many times when I couldn’t find him elsewhere. I bet he just has a case for you.”

“AT 6:45 AM?”

“ _Gavin!_ Sometimes, in order to get a promotion, one has to work a bit harder than they did before.” 

The phone went silent. A breath left Gavin. Then three more, all in quick and painful succession. “Fucking-”

“We have another case to work on, Gavin. May I come in?” 

“No. I’ll get my fucking clothes on and meet you outside.”

“Why? I could easily brief you while you dress. We would have a much smoother transition to our departure.”

“Fucking ‘cause I said so. Besides, Sugar hates you.” Indeed, the cat did hate the RK unit. She remained sullenly hidden under the couch as she watched the proceedings, small hisses leaving her whenever the RK900’s hand probed at the opening between the door and the wall. 

“That’s alright. I am not fond of cats.” 

“Fucking- Hellspawn.” Gavin slammed the door shut with a measure of finality he hadn’t known that he possessed. 

Quickly pulling on a few-days-old outfit, Gavin reopened the door, this time taking off the lock and stepped outside. “I’m out. What do you want, tin can?”

“I am not made of tin.” The same dull smile from before stretched at the RK900’s face. “We have been given another case. A murder. We should arrive at the scene in a prompt manner.”

“Fine. Just get in my car.” He gestured to the beat up red vehicle. This morning, he was at least thankful for the quiet RK900 would surely give him. But as he entered the vehicle besides the patiently waiting RK900 unit, he just couldn’t get his shoulders to lie flat. Gavin fucking hated his grin. It was hollow, he decided, as he pulled his car out of the driveway and onto the road. Like someone had scooped out the android’s insides and replaced it with thick nothingness. 

“Where are we going, prick?” Gavin drummed his fingers against the wheel, trying not to let his teeth clench. 

The android gave him the directions, his eyes not straying from Gavin once as he talked. 

As Gavin drove towards their destination, he couldn’t help but glance over at the android. Now, the android pretended to look out of the windshield, hands in a clasped position, but Gavin knew he was watching him. From the corner of his empty blue eyes, no doubt. 

He was so still, that if he had been human, Gavin would have thought he was dead. Still, he stored the information away for later. Maybe Gavin would be able to use it as leverage to Fowler, as a reason the android should be checked over one last time before redeployment. 

So still, except one of his hands had moved. Only slightly, in a human amount, to the edge of his lap. But the rest of his body remained perfectly immobile. As Gavin glanced back from the road, he realized the hand had moved again. Only a small distance, but nonetheless farther away from the other. Gavin forced himself to look back out as he passed a car. If he focused on the road, he reasoned, maybe it wouldn’t bother him so much. Maybe he could ignore it. 

Gavin yelped, the half-strangled sound frozen in his throat. The hand had settled on his thigh. For a few seconds, Gavin could only gasp for air as the fingers probed against his flesh. “Wh-what the hell?”

 

“Is this bothering you, Gavin?”

“Sure as hell it is-”

“Would you like me to remove them?” The RK900 kept his hand firmly pressed into Gavin. 

A breath sputtered from him as he nodded his answer. 

“Alright.” The hand slithered from his leg. “I simply wished to reassure you, Gavin; you were quite tense.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Thankfully, they had pulled into their destination. 

Gavin avoided the android in the crime scene, taking care to stay close to Chris and the other attending officer. Whenever the android approached him with questions, he shooed him off. It did little to calm the erratic thud of Gavin’s heart, but it did do some. 

“How’s the new partner treating you, Gav? Hate him like the others?”

“Funny. And he’s…” Gavin didn’t know what to say. The RK900’s hearing capabilities put them well within earshot of the android. “He’s alright, I guess. A lot less rambunctious than some.” 

“Than you, you mean.”

“Whatever. Say-” A bounce entered his leg, and he marvelled at the taptaptap that it made against the floor. “I need to talk to you about something. Outside.” 

“Outside?” Chris leaned closer, eyebrow raised. No doubt he expected one of the “stunts” that Gavin loved to pull when he was younger. 

“Yeah. Away from that.” He hoped the jerk of his eyes to RK900 would be enough to clue Chris in. 

“Right. OK. I’ll come with you right now.”

As they trudged outside of the building, Gavin cast a glance back at the inside. The RK900 seemed busy, poking at a tipped-over coffee table. Good, Gavin thought.

“So what’s the big secret?” Chris’s arms were crossed, and suddenly all bravery drained from Gavin. He only really needed to tell one person in particular about his problems with the android. 

“I, uhh, don’t feel too hot. I’m gonna go home. Just don’t tell the android where I went, ok? Plastic prick already decided he can come to my house.”

“Right. Got it. Feel better, man.” Chris opened his arms for a hug Gavin hadn’t known that he needed. 

“Thank you. So much.” Gavin wanted to stay longer, he wanted to say _something_ , but thick silence clogged his mouth. 

Chris clapped him on the back once before pulling away. 

\---------------------------------------

As Gavin pulled his car into the station, he wondered if he should have gone home. The thought of his bed and curling up in it sent a shiver down his back. Maybe if he tried, he could forget about everything. But he knew the nightmares would keep him awake, and the current nightmare in his life would continue. 

“Reed. You shouldn’t be back yet.” Were the first words that greeted him as he entered the bullpen. Fowler stood outside his office, a coffee in his hand as he talked to Hank. Deep lines creased Fowler’s face. Just beside them sat Connor, fiddling with his coin

“I have something I need to tell you, sir. In your office.” From a precursory glance at the bullpen, the RK900 hadn’t returned yet. Gavin’s shoulders untensed. 

“It better be worth my time. And make it quick; I expect you back out there once this is over. Your partner needs you.”

“It’s… about that, sir. N-not the case, but RK900. My partner.”

“I trust you have been treating him fairly.” Fowler raised a solitary eyebrow, and the words almost dried in Gavin’s throat.

Gavin gulped in a breath before conitnuing. “I have! It’s just…” A million words, all in a jumble, flashed through Gavin’’s mind. He could say so many things to argue his case. Perhaps that the RK900 unit was experiencing malfunctions, with how few of his normal human movements were employed, and perhaps they should have that checked on. Or that his detecting capabilities seemed to be malfunctioning, and he should be sent back to Cyberlife for a full repair. But three little words wobbled on the edge of his tongue, ready to spill over like the child’s tears that had beaded his eyes when someone had yanked on his pigtails on the playground. 

He opened his mouth to say them, but the look on Fowler’s face stopped him cold. Deep lines soured his expression, and a certain unforgivingness stared out of his eyes down at him. The thought of baring himself to the man curdled Gavin’s stomach. “Now, Reed. I don’t have all day.” 

“He- he never stops smiling. It’s the only thing he does, the only expression he uses, and it’s so fucking creepy. Just- I think his integration software must be broken so you should send him right back and- He hasn’t even picked out a goddamn name!”

“Enough. I know that you would prefer not to have a partner, Gavin. I know that you want to work alone, and you don’t want anyone ‘fucking’ with the way you work. But RK900 is here to stay. You _will_ treat him as such. Now, I want you to go back out to your partner, and I want you to apologize for leaving. I want you to tell him that you are sorry for how childishly you have behaved towards him, and I want you to do it quickly. Got it?” Fowler’s hands thunked hard on the glass desk in emphasis. 

“G-got i-it.” Gavin fought the urge to wipe at his face with the back of his hand like a child. 

“Hell. Pull yourself together, Gavin; you’ve gotten a dressing-down before. This is no different.” Fowler averted his eyes from Gavin as he ushered him out of Fowler’s office. “Look, he’s back now. You won’t even have to go out to apologize to him.” Awkwardly, he reached out to pat Gavin’s shoulder. Gavin didn’t have the energy to jerk away. 

“Hello, Gavin.” The RK900 stood in front of Gavin’s desk, a tight smile on his face. It was pursed, too, like someone had pumped him full of air and had forgotten to let enough out so he wouldn’t burst. 

“Hey. Find anything?”

“More than you did.”

“I-”

“It is rude to abandon your partner, Gavin. Like Fowler said, I require an apology.” The grin widened, pale lips revealing teeth, and Gavin wanted to vomit over his fucking perfect face. The slight gaps in the RK900’s teeth shed a stark black, as if only an endless void yawned behind them. 

“I’m so fucking sorry. Truly no one has ever been harmed like you have.”

“I’m sure you will be, Gavin.” 

They stood in silence, the RK900’s empty eyes staring directly into his. In that moment, Gavin wished they would have shown something. Anything. Even malice would have been better than the deep hollowness they exuded. 

The RK900 reached out one long hand, squeezing the side of Gavin’s face. He jerked back, but not quick enough for the cool touch of his palm not to linger. Acrid bile bubbled in Gavin’s stomach, and he clamped his mouth shut tight to stop it from spilling over. 

“Hey. Gavin, are you alright?” Connor. Connor was there. Connor would help him. The android’s bright brown eyes widened as they took in Gavin’s face. 

“I’m… I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel.”

“Let’s take a walk. Just you and me. You can tell me all about how RK900 is doing without the pressure of having him hear, alright? And please,” Connor turned to the other android, a stern look clear in his face. Gavin half expected him to wag a finger at the android, and the thought almost made him giggle. “Do not breach Detective Reed’s privacy by listening in.”

The RK900 nodded, folding his hands in some stab at placidity as Connor pulled Gavin out into the hallway. 

“You look like you’re about to cry, Detective Reed. And what was that about him… grabbing you?”

“He did it before, in the car. Grabbed my leg- made me feel so _dirty_ and-”

“And Fowler didn’t do anything?” Connor looked disgusted. 

“No! Didn’t even let me saaay it!” If Gavin didn’t shut up now, he would be wailing. Still, Gavin couldn’t stop. The words boiled at the edge of his mouth, begging to spill out. 

“Gavin, I’m so sorry that he said that to you. I know you have proved to be… difficult in the past, but let me assure you, that does not mean that you deserve to be brushed off. No one deserves that.” Connor’s hand twitched, as if it wanted to rest itself on Gavin’s arm. 

“So you’ll help me?” 

“Of course. I can try to talk some sense into Fowler; either have the RK900 reassigned to a different partner, or at the very least have him be talked to. It’s obviously bad for the both of you to be forced to work alone together, given his behaviour. In the meantime, please tell me if he tries anything.” 

“Thank you.” He rocked forward and backward on his heels, his fingers drumming against his dark blue jeans. Right now, Gavin needed a hug. Connor took in Gavin’s cue, tentatively opening his arms, and Gavin rushed in. “Thank you so fucking much.” Nudging his head under the android’s chin, Gavin allowed his eyes to close. It didn’t offer him the release of sleep, not nearly close enough to that, but the darkness provided him some small solace from staring blue eyes. Connor’s hand stroked against his back, alternating between slow and brisk circles. 

The relief didn’t last for long. The RK900 cleared his throat once, and Gavin’s eyes blinked open at the second clearing. “May I have Gavin back now, Connor? I assume he has finished with his evaluation of my performance, considering your current position, and it is imperative that I brief him on my findings from the case.” The android stood behind them, his lips still drawn in a smile, teeth showing prominently. His arms crossed over his torso.

“No. Gavin is very sick, and I’m going to take him home so he can rest. I advise you not to bother him tomorrow morning, even if the Captain assigns you a case. I can deal with Captain Fowler for you if he insists.”

“Alright. I hope you get well soon, Gavin; I hardly have reason to work here without you.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. Goodbye, I guess.” He wanted to curse at the android, to scream and claw at him until he ripped his fucking smile out with his ragged nails. Instead, Gavin bit down hard on his tongue. The RK900 would be gone from him very soon, he was sure. Fowler couldn’t do nothing. 

Pulling back from Connor, Gavin allowed himself to be lead to the front entrance of the building. 

“We should take your car, so as not to strand you at your home tomorrow. Would you prefer me to drive?”

“Um,” Normally, Gavin hated the thought of someone else driving his car. But this was anything but normal. “Sure. You know where to drop me off, right?” He handed Connor his keys. 

“Yes; we have your address in the files.”

As Connor pulled out of the parking lot, Gavin fiddled with the radio. The first two channels came out in bursts of static, and Gavin violently twisted the radio off. 

“I could try singing, Detective.”

“What?”

“You wanted music. Maybe I could sing for you? I am equipped with state-of-the-art voice recreation, so I am able to match my voice to any of your favorite artists. All I require is that you give me a name.”

“Um… thank you. But I can just play shit from my phone.” Gavin leaned back against his seat. It felt uncomfortably intimate to have Connor sing to him. “Anything you wanna hear?”

“I do enjoy Knights of the Black Death. Perhaps one of their songs?”

Gavin nodded, fingers fumbling over his touchscreen before hitting start on the first song that popped up in the search. The loud base and screams of the music shook the car, and Gavin couldn’t stop his smile. Oddly enough, he found himself slipping into a sense of calm. At least the crashes and rocks blaring from his phone allowed him distance from everything. 

As they pulled into Gavin’s driveway, Connor hovered his hand above Gavin’s knee. Gavin grabbed it, pulling it to rest on his leg. “What?”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright in there, Gavin? I don’t want RK900 to harass you while I’m gone.”

“I’m sure. I’ll call you when I wake up, ok? And if he even thinks about coming over, I’ll get you to kick his ass”

“Thank you. And I’m sorry that you had to go through this.” Connor’s hand still rested on Gavin’s knee, and he squeezed him once. 

“I should get going now.” Gavin hopped out of the car and closed the door, waving to Connor as he dashed to his house. Something buzzed inside of him, and as Gavin slammed his front door shut, he realized it was freedom. He wouldn’t have to deal with the RK900, and even if they still had to work together, Connor had his back. He could get through this. All he needed to do was survive the next few days.


End file.
